Bill de Blasio passes on speaking at DNC delegation breakfast

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PHILADELPHIA — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was scheduled to address the New York Democratic convention delegation at a Thursday morning breakfast but left the event midway, citing a scheduling conflict.

De Blasio got up from his seat and departed the delegation breakfast shortly after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo addressed the gathering on the final morning of the four-day convention.

The event was scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. but started late with Cuomo kicking off the slate of speakers that included New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Senate Democratic leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

De Blasio was supposed to speak after Cuomo but the governor’s address was followed by an awards ceremony, where Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-Manhattan) and labor leader Stuart Appelbaum spoke for several minutes after receiving plaques from state party officials.

“The Mayor had a speaking slot but the State Party program was running significantly late,” De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said in an e-mail. “He moderated a policy panel on income inequality immediately following his visit with state delegates.”

De Blasio’s schedule for his convention related events shows that he was scheduled to speak at a 9:30 a.m. panel on income inequality.

The mayor, who has often been at odds with Cuomo’s office, did not attend the delegation’s other morning gatherings held Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Wednesday, de Blasio delivered a brief seven-minute address to the Democratic convention at 5:30 p.m, as most delegates were still trickling into the Wells Fargo Arena. He spoke hours before former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the convention stage in a prime-time speech endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.